Australian Release: Out Now
Mass Effect 2 will be darker than the first game, with Bioware stating that "Saren's evil army of Geth soldiers has just been defeated, and humans, who are still struggling to make their mark on the galactic stage, are now faced with an even greater peril." Online retailer listings have further elaborated on the plot: "The second chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy takes you to the darkest reaches of space, where you must uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of humans across many worlds. Prepare yourself for a suicide mission to save mankind."
Casey Hudson, Project Director for BioWare, and Greg Zeschuk, BioWare co-founder, as well as various developers on the official Mass Effect message boards, have said that players should keep their Mass Effect save-files, because decisions made by the player in the first game will continue to have influences on their character in the sequel. Players who have not played the first Mass Effect will start a new character in Mass Effect 2, and will be brought up to speed on the story elements that have taken place thus far in the series. Hudson also states that characters from the previous game will come back, provided that they were not killed. The first teaser trailer for this game gives the impression that Commander Shepard has been killed in action, but a later trailer shows that Shepard is still alive at the beginning of the game. Players themselves can dictate whether or not Shepard will die based on choices that they make throughout the game.
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